( KTRS ) The number of Illinois patients approved to use medical marijuana continues to climb as dispensaries get ready to sell the drug for the first time. The Illinois Department of Public Health says it has approved 3,300 patients to use medical marijuana in the state’s pilot program, including 20 children. The department began mailing…

FOX LAKE, Ill. (AP) – A close-knit Illinois community is struggling to make sense of authorities’ announcement that a popular police officer staged his suicide to make it look like he died in the line of duty. Signs hung in honor of Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz after his death were taken down Wednesday around the…

CHICAGO (AP) – Vladimir Tarasenko scored at 3:54 of a whistle-free overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 6-5 come-from-behind win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Tarasenko, who also had an assist, beat Corey Crawford on the glove side from the slot for his seventh goal after taking a nifty behind-the-back centering…

ST. LOUIS (AP) – St. Louis Rams backup running back Trey Watts has been suspended indefinitely for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. It’s the second suspension this fall for Watts, who was out the first four games. Watts made his season debut Oct. 25 and had a special teams tackle against the Browns. He…

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A St. Louis man has been charged in a machete attack in the city’s Gravois Park neighborhood last month. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1HsG7Fo ) that a grand jury indicted Ryan S. Lawrence Tuesday on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Police say Lawrence slashed a 31-year-old woman…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – A divided Illinois Supreme Court has again rejected a $10.1 billion class-action judgment against cigarette maker Phillip Morris over its marketing of “low-tar” tobacco products. The 4-2 ruling released Wednesday vacates a 2014 decision by Illinois’ 5th District Appellate Court to reinstate the Madison County verdict. The state Supreme Court first…

( KTRS ) A public interest law firm is suing the city of Pagedale in federal court, for it’s ticketing practices. The Arlington, Virginia-based Institute for Justice filed the lawsuit Wednesday in St. Louis, asking a judge to stop the city of Pagedale from enforcing city codes that the plaintiffs call for-profit and unconstitutional. The…